At this time of year, millions of people around the world have resolved to lose weight. Sadly, most of them will fail.

One of the main reasons why so many of us are unable to lose excess bodyfat is night-time snacking.

During the day, we are able to eat healthy, control our portion size, choose vegetables over starchy carbs and stay away from junk food.

But at night, most of us relax, drop onto the couch, turn on the tv…and say goodbye to our weight-loss willpower.

And nothing wrecks a diet faster than night time snacking while watching tv

A few years ago, I had a client who was having problems with night time snacking. He did everything “right” during the day, but when he finally relaxed at the end of the day, he found himself dealing with major cravings while watching the nightly news.

Most of the time, he drowned his cravings with mugs of steaming hot tea. But as the cravings didn’t lessen over time, we felt that we needed to do something to resist their temptation.

Here’s what we did.

Right before he sat down in front of the tv, I had him perform a single 4-minute Tabata set of Step-Ups using one of the staircases in his home.

And it worked.

We have no idea why it worked – hormones, brain chemicals, recharged willpower – and we didn’t care. All that mattered was that his cravings went away, making it easier for him to achieve his fitness goals.

Give it a try and let me know how it works for you 🙂

How to do Tabata Step-Ups

What is Tabata?

Tabata is an exercise protocol in which you exercise as hard as possible for 20 seconds…then rest for 10 seconds…repeating this 7 more times…for a total of 8 x 20 second work sets + 8 x 10 second rest sets = 4 minutes of high intensity exercise.

How do I do Tabata Step-Ups in my home?

You couldn’t find a simpler exercise.

Step 1 : Walk over to a staircase

Step 2: Step Up

Step 3: Step Down

Step 4: Do this as fast as you can for 20 seconds

Step 5: Rest for 10 seconds

Step 6: Repeat Steps 4 & 5 seven more times

Step Up Videos

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Here’s why…

In a study published in the European Journal of Applied Physiology, researchers examined whether a combination of sprint interval workouts and strength training workouts would result in compromised strength development when compared to strength training alone.

During this study, they also monitored maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max) and time to exhaustion (TTE) to determine if the HIIT workouts would improve aerobic performance.

The Results

After 12 weeks of 4x per week workouts, they researchers found that:

Upper & lower body strength improved in both groups with no difference between the strength training (ST) group and the combination HIIT-ST group.

VO2max improved in the HIIT-ST group but not in the ST group. Previous studies have shown that HIIT is equal or superior to traditional cardio in improving VO2max

Conclusions

Strength training without HIIT will make you stronger

Strength training + HIIT will make you equally as strong

HIIT improves VO2max as well or better than traditional cardio training

When you combine this new data with all of the previous studies + years of real-world experience that has shown that traditional cardio training reduces strength, power & muscle mass in favour of aerobic performance (VO2max et al), it all starts to become very clear.

It means that if…

You want to be healthy

You want to be fit

You want to be strong

You want to be fast

You want to be powerful

You want to look great naked

…you need to just say no to cardio and just start saying yes to HIIT + strength training.

As I promised yesterday, today’s post is the second installment of “how-to” exercise videos. Yesterday’s push-ups and today’s squats are going to be combined with a third “mystery” exercise to create a thoroughly unpleasant (and very, very effective) High Intensity Resistance Training circuit workout video that I will post on Wednesday. And as the exercise video library grows, I will create full-length (20 minute) High Intensity Resistance Training exercise videos. These videos will be posted on Thursdays…and will include instructions on how to add mobility, flexibility, HIIT and/or cardio training to the resistance training workout video to look after all your exercise needs. Alright, enough yakity yak…let’s get to the exercise videos

HealthHabits “How-To” Exercise Videos #2 – Squats

Bodyweight Squats

Goblet Squats

Overhead Squats

Tomorrow, I combine these exercises + one more “mystery” exercise into an awesome High Intensity Resistance Training circuit workout. Get ready to sweat.

NOTE – As this is my first attempt at doing workout – exercise videos, I would really, really appreciate your feedback on the quality / usability of these videos. My goal is to make them useful for people who workout at home (video on their tv sets or laptop) & at the gym (video on smartphone or tablet).

Why Can’t I Lose Weight?

It seems like I hear some version of this question each and every day. Just this past weekend, it was posed to me by Angela.

Angela is a forty-something year old woman, with two kids and an executive position at an insurance company.

Angela is 5’6″ and weighs approximately 170 lbs.

Angela doesn’t want to weigh approximately 170 lbs.

Maybe, some of you can sympathize with her story.

Angela’s Story

All the way through high school, Angela was an average, healthy weight. Not thin; healthy. She participated in gym class and enjoyed playing tennis. In university, she fell victim to the dreaded “freshman fifteen”. By the time she graduated, it was more like 20 lbs.

After graduation, she lost most of that weight by exercising at a health club and watching what she ate.

Next came the babies…

After the birth of her two children, Angela found herself reunited with that extra 20 lbs. Throwing herself back into that same exercise and nutrition program, Angela managed to lose most of that 20 lbs….And then gain it all back….and then lose most of it again…..and then gain it all back plus a little bit extra.

This takes us back to the present day.

Angela has 35 lbs. of excess fat that she wants to be rid of.

And she feels completely lost.

She has read every diet book.

She has exercised like an Olympic athlete.

She has cleansed.

She has popped dietary supplements.

She has joined and quit three different diet programs.

Nothing works anymore. So she asks me, “Why can’t I lose weight”?

So Why Can’t She Lose Weight?

The truth is; when it comes to burning off excess body-fat, Angela has no idea what she is doing. But it’s not her fault.

The multi-billion dollar diet industry sets people up for failure. If every dieter was successful, who would buy the next best selling diet book? Who would buy the pills or the bars or the shakes or the… Well, you get the point.

The diet industry promises you easy weight loss. But when you fail, it is always due to your lack of will-power. So why don’t the diet gurus help you generate that will power?

As a personal trainer with 25 yrs of experience AND as a certified fitness junkie, I love HIIT because…

it works really, really well to help my clients get fit really, really fast,

it helps my clients drop excess body-fat really, really fast

and because it is really simple to program HIIT workouts and it fits into the busiest of schedules really, really well.

Unfortunately, not everyone sees HIIT like I do.

There is a large group of trainers and fitness “experts” who…

think that low intensity cardio is superior to HIIT for developing aerobic fitness, and

fear that the High Intensity aspect of HIIT is dangerous to the health of their clients.

Their concern is that people with less than perfect cardiac function are at imminent risk of suffering a heart attack if their trainer puts them on a HIIT protocol. Which makes sense….if you haven’t read a medical journal in the past few years and still believe that low intensity cardio is the only safe way to improve cardiac function..

However, if you’re like me and don’t want to wait for our mainstream health & fitness to catch up with modern science, I invite you to…

Note – VO2max/VO2peak is considered to be the gold standard for aerobic ﬁtness, and aerobic fitness is believed to be the best indicator of cardiovascular health and a well-established predictor of total and cardiovascular mortality in subjects with and without coronary heart disease.

This means that exercise protocols which drastically improve VO2max/VO2peak are to be seen as powerful tools to help the medical (and fitness) communities prevent coronary heart disease and extend life.

In this study, the participants were divided into three groups based upon exercise intensity – as determined by percentage of HRmax.

<88%,

88–92%, and

>92% of HRmax

The goal of the study was to determine if higher relative intensity during exercise intervals would elicit a greater
increase in VO2peak…leading to greater & faster improvements in aerobic fitness and in theory improve cardiac related mortality rates.

These findings build upon previous research which shows that the beneﬁcial cardiovascular effects of aerobic exercise are intensity dependent, with higher intensity exercise showing a superior effect…leading the study authors to conclude that “CHD patients who are able to perform high intensity training should aim at increasing exercise intensity above 92% of HRmax and thereby possibly achieve even greater improvements in aerobic capacity”.

What does this mean for you?

If you’re a CHD patient, you need to talk to your cardiologist about HIIT training…keeping in mind of course that CHD patients need to keep a close eye on how everything they do – exercise, nutrition, lifestyle, stress, etc – can impact the function of their CV system.

If you’re not a CHD patient, it means that if you want to improve your aerobic fitness and avoid dropping dead of a heart attack, you NEED to start doing some form of HIIT – High Intensity Interval Training.

And if you’re a doctor or fitness expert who still believes that low intensity cardio is the best way to improve aerobic function, you need to put down your preconceptions and pick up a scientific journal every now and then.

Anyone familiar with Health Habits knows that I am a big fan of HIIT – High Intensity Interval Training

I love HIIT is because…

HIIT makes you faster

HIIT saves time with short workouts

HIIT make you more powerful

HIIT burns calories for hours after you’ve finished your workout

HIIT is challenging

HIIT makes a workout more fun

HIIT improves your aerobic endurance

HIIT improves heart function

HIIT improves your aerobic endurance

HIIT helps heart disease patients regain their health

HIIT is appropriate for almost all trainees

HIIT makes you look like a total BADASS in the gym

Unfortunately, just as soon as HIIT left the fringes of exercise science and moved into the mainstream and your local YMCA, the central concept behind the success of HIIT came under attack.

HIIT works as well as it does because of intensity of effort. Not length of sprint…or length of training session…or number of sprints performed…or restricting rest periods…HIIT works because of a complete 100%, pit-bull chasing you down the street type of intensity.

Each HIIT sprint should feel FAST. When your sprints start to slow down, you need to…

Increase rest period length, or

Shorten sprint duration, or

Reduce resistance, or

All of the above

Remember – When it comes to HIIT – Quality trumps Quantity

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If you want to live a nice long healthy life, the intensity of your workout is more important than the duration.

During their research, they found that men who cycled with fast intensity survived 5.3 years longer than slow cyclists. Average intensity male cyclists survived 2.9 years longer than the slow cyclists.

For women, the averages dropped to 3.9 years for fast cyclists and 2.2 for average speed cyclists.

For both sexes, these numbers were even more pronounced for coronary heart disease mortality.

According to Dr. Peter Schnor, “this study suggests that a greater part of the daily physical activity in leisure time should be vigorous, based on the individuals own perception of intensity”. And it’s not just cycling. Dr. Schnor has published similar results for all-cause mortality in relation to walking.

HIIT workouts are all about intensity. The goal is to generate huge amounts of power & speed in a relatively short period of time…over and over again with the smallest possible rest periods.

If the resistance is too high, you don’t get the speed.

If the resistance is too low, you don’t get the power

If the rest periods are too short, you don’t get the power or speed or volume and you’ll probably puke.

If the rest periods are too long, you’ll get power & speed but you’ll never develop any anaerobic endurance.

Honestly, designing a really good HIIT workout is more art than science.

And my client Zoe is turning into one heck of a HIIT workout artist. Last week, she tells me that she modified one of my take-home workouts and created her own HIIT workout. And while a lesser trainer would have been insulted and thrown a hissy fit…I was intrigued. So, we programmed the Gymboss interval timer and Zoe showed me her HIIT workout. Enjoy.

Sprint full out for 10 seconds

Rest 10 seconds

Sprint full out for 10 seconds

Rest 20 seconds

Sprint full out for 10 seconds

Rest 30 seconds

Sprint full out for 10 seconds

Rest 40 seconds

Sprint full out for 10 seconds

Rest 50 seconds

Sprint full out for 10 seconds

Done

For a grand total of 6 sprints in 210 seconds or 3 1/2 minutes

,

I LOVE IT!!!

.

The pyramid effect of the rest periods allowed Zoe to:

Maximize the volume of HIIT work performed – she did this HIIT workout 3x as part of a very challenging HIRT workout

Keep her resistance level high

Keep her speed level high

Recover sufficently during the HIIT session

Recover completely very quickly post workout

It’s a great HIIT workout.

.

And as Zoe’s athletic ability improves, we can increase the intensity of this workout by throwing in an extra 10:10 ratio HIIT sprint….or perform 2 sessions back to back….or make it part of an endurance cardio workout….

.

The options are endless.

Like this article???

If you like this article, don’t forget to subscribe to @healthhabits. When you subscribe, my friends at MailChimp will make sure to send you an email every time I post something new here at the blog.

As well, you also get access to the series of Supplement Reports that I am publishing this year.

If you thought 8 sets of 6 reps was rough, wait until you do 12 sets of 4 reps.

.

PHASE 1

Warm-Up

Feel free to mix things up during the warm-up.

The goal is to warm up your muscles and to get your joints lubricated. I like the following warm-up exercises, but as long as your muscles are getting pliable and your joints are feeling “loose”….feel free to do your own thing…as long as it gets the job done.

.

5 Minutes of the following 4 Mobility Exercises:

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1. Circles – Starting with the ankles and moving all the way up to your neck, gently make circles with all of your joints – 10 revolutions each joint in each direction

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2. Rolling Like A Ball

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3. Shin Box

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4. Lateral Lunges

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5 Minutes of the following Muscle Warm-Up Exercises

I am going to list a bunch of exercises. You choose which ones you want to do….remembering that the goal is to warm up the muscles and make them pliable and ready to handle the following workout

PHASE 2

The HH Quasi Bodybuilder/Athlete/Freak of Nature Workout ver 1.0

Instead of 3 supersets of 2 exercises for a total of 6 exercises, we’re keeping it very simple this time.

1 exercise at a time…no supersets

12 sets per exercise

4 reps per set

15 seconds rest between sets

Choose a weight that will challenge you to just get the 4th rep on the last set

If you make 4 reps on set #12, increase the weight a little bit the following week

Perform the “work” part of each exercise as quickly and powerfully as possible

I recommend that when you feel like you’re running out of gas that you do a 2-5 reps of a light weight, explosive exercise which works the same muscles as the work set (ex. jumping up & down before doing squats)

This will get your nervous system all charged up and help you perform better on the work set.

.

Exercise #1 – Standard Grip Bench Press

12 sets

4 reps per set

Barbell

For the neural activation warm-up exercise, I would recommend Explosive Push-ups off of a floor/bench/wall

.

Exercise #2 – Overhead Press

12 sets

4 reps per set

Barbell or Machine

Standing or Seated

Standing presses with a barbell is the most challenging option and the one that I recommend…but as you fatigue, your balance is going to suffer and the potential for a weightlifting accident increases. So, feel free to use a seated shoulder press machine. It’s slightly less effective but increases your stability & your safety.

For the neural activation warm-up exercise, I would recommend 5 reps of Overhead Presses with a light exercise band or Medicine Ball Overhead Press & Throw

Neural Recharge exercises will be included to supercharge your nervous system

As always, the success of HIRT workouts depends on the intensity of your effort – if you’re going to give it 80% effort, don’t bother. I want/need/demand 100% of YOUR best effort to get the most out of these workouts.

After you have completed the 5 min HIRT superset, you will have 3 minutes between sets to get ready for the next superset and perhaps even stretch a little bit. I will suggest a stretch that will help improve the performance of the next superset.

After you have completed all of the HIRT supersets, I want you to spend 10 minutes on a goal specific to you

If you really want to lose weight, spend 10 minutes doing some HIIT sprints on an exercise bike. I would recommend 10 sprints with a 10 sec ON : 50 sec OFF ratio

And remember, the success of this phase of the workout relies on three things:

Keeping good form throughout each exercise.

Performing as many reps as possible. Really push yourself.

Keeping the rest between sets to an absolute minimum. No rest if possible. .

WORKOUT WARM-UP

Feel free to mix things up during the warm-up. The goal is to warm up your muscles and to get your joints lubricated. I like the following warm-up exercises, but if you’re getting sick of them..do your own thing…as long as it gets the job done.

.

Circles – Starting with the ankles and moving all the way up to your neck, gently make circles with all of your joints – 10 revolutions each joint in each direction

.

Dead Bug – Push your lower back into the floor and articulate your arms & legs as in the video. 1 set of as many reps as possible with your lower back pushed into the floor.

And remember, the success of this phase of the workout relies on three things:

Keeping good form throughout each exercise.

Performing as many reps as possible. Really push yourself.

Keeping the rest between sets to an absolute minimum. No rest if possible. .

WORKOUT WARM-UP

Feel free to mix things up during the warm-up. The goal is to warm up your muscles and to get your joints lubricated. I like the following warm-up exercises, but if you’re getting sick of them..do your own thing…as long as it gets the job done.

.

Circles – Starting with the ankles and moving all the way up to your neck, gently make circles with all of your joints – 10 revolutions each joint in each direction

.

Dead Bug – Push your lower back into the floor and articulate your arms & legs as in the video. 1 set of as many reps as possible with your lower back pushed into the floor.

Today’s picture expresses the type of intensity I would like to see applied to the following workout…perhaps without the adamantium claws and the homicidal intent.

WORKOUT WARM-UP

Feel free to mix things up during the warm-up. The goal is to warm up your muscles and to get your joints lubricated. I like the following warm-up exercises, but if you’re getting sick of them..do your own thing…as long as it gets the job done.

Circles – Starting with the ankles and moving all the way up to your neck, gently make circles with all of your joints – 10 revolutions each joint in each direction

Dead Bug – Push your lower back into the floor and articulate your arms & legs as in the video. 1 set of as many reps as possible with your lower back pushed into the floor. When your back starts to arch…STOP

Feel free to mix things up during the warm-up. The goal is to warm up your muscles and to get your joints lubricated. I like the following warm-up exercises, but if you’re getting sick of them..do your own thing…as long as it gets the job done.

Circles – Starting with the ankles and moving all the way up to your neck, gently make circles with all of your joints – 10 revolutions each joint in each direction

Dead Bug – Push your lower back into the floor and articulate your arms & legs as in the video. 1 set of as many reps as possible with your lower back pushed into the floor. When your back starts to arch…STOP

BW Rows – like Monday’s push-ups, this exercise may be too easy to be performed in the same decreasing rep fashion as the other exercises. If this is the case for you, stick with 10 reps for every set.

Exercise #4

Ab Wheel Roll Outs or Toes to the Sky – same rep scheme as BW Rows if possible

.

Repeat this circuit 10 times with decreasing reps per set as outlined above.

Feel free to mix things up during the warm-up. The goal is to warm up your muscles and to get your joints lubricated. I like the following warm-up exercises, but if you’re getting sick of them..do your own thing…as long as it gets the job done.

Circles – Starting with the ankles and moving all the way up to your neck, gently make circles with all of your joints – 10 revolutions each joint in each direction

Dead Bug – Push your lower back into the floor and articulate your arms & legs as in the video. 1 set of as many reps as possible with your lower back pushed into the floor. When your back starts to arch…STOP

Today’s picture expresses the type of intensity I would like to see applied to the following workout…perhaps without the adamantium claws and the homicidal intent.

WORKOUT WARM-UP

Feel free to mix things up during the warm-up. The goal is to warm up your muscles and to get your joints lubricated. I like the following warm-up exercises, but if you’re getting sick of them..do your own thing…as long as it gets the job done.

Circles – Starting with the ankles and moving all the way up to your neck, gently make circles with all of your joints – 10 revolutions each joint in each direction

Dead Bug – Push your lower back into the floor and articulate your arms & legs as in the video. 1 set of as many reps as possible with your lower back pushed into the floor. When your back starts to arch…STOP

Feel free to mix things up during the warm-up. The goal is to warm up your muscles and to get your joints lubricated. I like the following warm-up exercises, but if you’re getting sick of them..do your own thing…as long as it gets the job done.

Circles – Starting with the ankles and moving all the way up to your neck, gently make circles with all of your joints – 10 revolutions each joint in each direction

Dead Bug – Push your lower back into the floor and articulate your arms & legs as in the video. 1 set of as many reps as possible with your lower back pushed into the floor. When your back starts to arch…STOP

BW Rows – like Monday’s push-ups, this exercise may be too easy to be performed in the same decreasing rep fashion as the other exercises. If this is the case for you, stick with 10 reps for every set.

Exercise #4

Ab Wheel Roll Outs or Toes to the Sky – same rep scheme as BW Rows if possible

.

Repeat this circuit 10 times with decreasing reps per set as outlined above.

I know that I promised we would have a new Tabata workout this week, but I changed my mind.

Instead, I present to you a new workout that I have been beta testing on some of my real-world clients over the past few weeks. It’s designed to kick the stuffing out of your anaerobic energy system while giving your muscles more than they can handle…all in under 30 minutes.

This should give you lots of extra time for all that Christmas shopping you still need to do.

WORKOUT WARM-UP

Feel free to mix things up during the warm-up. The goal is to warm up your muscles and to get your joints lubricated. I like the following warm-up exercises, but if you’re getting sick of them..do your own thing…as long as it gets the job done.

Circles – Starting with the ankles and moving all the way up to your neck, gently make circles with all of your joints – 10 revolutions each joint in each direction

Dead Bug – Push your lower back into the floor and articulate your arms & legs as in the video. 1 set of as many reps as possible with your lower back pushed into the floor. When your back starts to arch…STOP

It’s Tabata Time again!!!

This week is an exact duplicate of the previous Tabata phase. We are going to do this for 1 week and then follow up with 2 weeks of new Tabata exercises. My hope is that the bridge week will allow you to beat your PBs from the lastTabata week.

As always, during these workouts, I want you to balance the amount weight you use with number of reps per set .

If you normally like to push heavy weight…I want you to cut back and focus on the number of reps per set

If you normally go lighter but like to do high rep sets..then I want you to up the weight and drop the reps

The success of this program depends on you being willing to break out of your comfort zone.

You might hate me during the workouts, but you’ll thank me when you see yourself in the mirror.

Feel free to mix things up during the warm-up. The goal is to warm up your muscles and to get your joints lubricated. I like the following warm-up exercises, but if you’re getting sick of them..do your own thing…as long as it gets the job done.

Circles – Starting with the ankles and moving all the way up to your neck, gently make circles with all of your joints – 10 revolutions each joint in each direction

Dead Bug – Push your lower back into the floor and articulate your arms & legs as in the video. 1 set of as many reps as possible with your lower back pushed into the floor. When your back starts to arch…STOP

Back to the standing cable/band bridge/plank thingie for another minute

This time – face sideways to the cable stack with your arm straight out to the side at shoulder height – stand on the leg closest to the stack – this will be tough

Exercise #4

Push-Ups

From the floor if you can do them

Using a smith machine if you can’t do floor push-ups

No “girl” push-ups on the knees

Push-up for 20 seconds

Rest (floor) for 10 seconds

8 sets total of Push-ups

4 minutes total

Perform as many reps as possible per set

Back to the standing cable/band bridge/plank thingie for another minute

This time – sideways again (but face the opposite direction – 180 degree turn) to the cable stack with your arm straight out to the side at shoulder height – stand on the leg closest to the stack – this will be tough

At this point, you have done 16 minutes of HIIT/HIRT/Tabata work. This is the minimum amount of work for the day. However, depending upon your fitness level, I want you to try and complete all 4 exercises again – that would be 32 min of HIIT/HIRT/Tabata + the standing cable bridge exercise.

It’s Tabata Time again!!!

This week is an exact duplicate of the previous Tabata phase. We are going to do this for 1 week and then follow up with 2 weeks of new Tabata exercises. My hope is that the bridge week will allow you to beat your PBs from the lastTabata week.

As always, during these workouts, I want you to balance the amount weight you use with number of reps per set .

If you normally like to push heavy weight…I want you to cut back and focus on the number of reps per set

If you normally go lighter but like to do high rep sets..then I want you to up the weight and drop the reps

The success of this program depends on you being willing to break out of your comfort zone.

You might hate me during the workouts, but you’ll thank me when you see yourself in the mirror.

Feel free to mix things up during the warm-up. The goal is to warm up your muscles and to get your joints lubricated. I like the following warm-up exercises, but if you’re getting sick of them..do your own thing…as long as it gets the job done.

Circles – Starting with the ankles and moving all the way up to your neck, gently make circles with all of your joints – 10 revolutions each joint in each direction

Dead Bug – Push your lower back into the floor and articulate your arms & legs as in the video. 1 set of as many reps as possible with your lower back pushed into the floor. When your back starts to arch…STOP

Hip Thrust for 20 seconds
Rest (lying) for 10 seconds
8 sets of hip thrusts
4 minutes total
Perform as many reps as possible per set

.

No rest between work sets

Do this instead…..

Using a resistance band or cable station, face away from the band/cable station holding the band/handle overhead.
If arms overhead is too tough on your shoulders, rest your hands on your head.
With a “slight” forward lean, walk (gradually) forward until the resistance starts to pull you backwards or you start bending at the spine.
This exercise mimics a bridge/plank exercise, except instead of being in a horizontal position, you are vertical
To make it tougher, stand on one foot.
I will film a video for this exercise later this week. Until then, hopefully this image I created will give you a clearer idea of what I want.

Hold for 1 minute or until you catch your breath and are ready to start the next work set.

Exercise #2

Incline DB Chest Press

Press the DBs for 20 seconds
Rest (DBs on chest) for 10 seconds
8 sets of chest presses
4 minutes total
Perform as many reps as possible per set
Back to the standing cable/band bridge/plank thingie for a minute

Exercise #3

Pulldowns – vary grips as needed

Pulldown for 20 seconds
Rest for 10 seconds
8 sets of pulldowns
4 minutes total
Perform as many reps as possible per set
Back to the standing cable/band bridge/plank thingie for another minute

This time – face sideways to the cable stack with your arm straight out to the side at shoulder height – stand on the leg closest to the stack – this will be tough

Exercise #4

Cable Woodchops

Woodchop in one direction for 20 seconds
Rest (standing) for 10 seconds
Repeat in the other direction
Rest (standing) for 10 seconds
8 sets total of Woodchops – 4 per direction
4 minutes total
Perform as many reps as possible per set
Back to the standing cable/band bridge/plank thingie for another minute

This time – sideways again (but face the opposite direction – 180 degree turn) to the cable stack with your arm straight out to the side at shoulder height – stand on the leg closest to the stack – this will be tough

At this point, you have done 16 minutes of HIIT/HIRT/Tabata work. This is the minimum amount of work for the day. However, depending upon your fitness level, I want you to try and complete all 4 exercises again – that would be 32 min of HIIT/HIRT/Tabata + the standing cable bridge exercise.

It’s Tabata Time again!!!

This week is an exact duplicate of the previous Tabata phase. We are going to do this for 1 week and then follow up with 2 weeks of new Tabata exercises. My hope is that the bridge week will allow you to beat your PBs from the last Tabata week.

As always, during these workouts, I want you to balance the amount weight you use with number of reps per set .

If you normally like to push heavy weight…I want you to cut back and focus on the number of reps per set

If you normally go lighter but like to do high rep sets..then I want you to up the weight and drop the reps

The success of this program depends on you being willing to break out of your comfort zone.

You might hate me during the workouts, but you’ll thank me when you see yourself in the mirror.

Feel free to mix things up during the warm-up. The goal is to warm up your muscles and to get your joints lubricated. I like the following warm-up exercises, but if you’re getting sick of them..do your own thing…as long as it gets the job done.

Circles – Starting with the ankles and moving all the way up to your neck, gently make circles with all of your joints – 10 revolutions each joint in each direction

Dead Bug – Push your lower back into the floor and articulate your arms & legs as in the video. 1 set of as many reps as possible with your lower back pushed into the floor. When your back starts to arch…STOP

With a “slight” forward lean, walk (gradually) forward until the resistance starts to pull you backwards or you start bending at the spine.

This exercise mimics a bridge/plank exercise, except instead of being in a horizontal position, you are vertical

To make it tougher, stand on one foot.

I will film a video for this exercise later this week. Until then, hopefully this image I created will give you a clearer idea of what I want.

Hold for 1 minute or until you catch your breath and are ready to start the next work set.

Exercise #2

See Saw Press

Press the DBs/KBs for 20 seconds

Rest (arms at side) for 10 seconds

8 sets of see saw presses

4 min total

Perform as many reps as possible per set

Back to the standing cable/band bridge/plank thingie for a minute

Exercise #3

Standing Cable Row

Row for 20 seconds

Rest for 10 seconds

8 sets of standing cable rows

4 min total

Perform as many reps as possible per set

Back to the standing cable/band bridge/plank thingie for another minute

This time – face sideways to the cable stack with your arm straight out to the side at shoulder height – stand on the leg closest to the stack – this will be tough

Exercise #4

1 Leg Deadlift

Deadlift on 1 leg for 20 seconds

Rest (standing) for 10 seconds

Repeat on other leg – alternate back and forth

8 sets of 1 Leg DLs

4 min total

Perform as many reps as possible per set

Hold DBs for resistance

Back to the standing cable/band bridge/plank thingie for another minute

This time – sideways again (but face the opposite direction – 180 degree turn) to the cable stack with your arm straight out to the side at shoulder height – stand on the leg closest to the stack – this will be tough

At this point, you have done 16 minutes of HIIT/HIRT/Tabata work. This is the minimum amount of work for the day. However, depending upon your fitness level, I want you to try and complete all 4 exercises again – that would be 32 min of HIIT/HIRT/Tabata + the standing cable bridge exercise.

1. Circles – Starting with the ankles and moving all the way up to your neck, gently make circles with all of your joints – 10 revolutions each joint in each direction

.

2. Dead Bug – Push your lower back into the floor and articulate your arms & legs as in the video. 1 set of as many reps as possible with your lower back pushed into the floor. When your back starts to arch…STOP

warm up with some sets of 10 reps..building up to a weight that you could perform a max 15 reps

* Choose the weight that you could perform 15 reps with
* Then do 25 reps by…

* banging out those first 15 in normal fashion…rest for a few seconds – drawing in 4 big breaths…and then bang out a few more reps (1-5),,,rest again…lift again…rest again…until you get to 25 reps

Rest 5-10 minutes, and then do the same thing with

Exercise #2

Bodyweight Skullcrushers

Warm up with a couple of 10 rep sets

And then try to get between 20-60 reps

* banging out those first 10 or so in normal fashion…rest for a few seconds – drawing in 4 big breaths…and then bang out a few more reps ,,,rest again…lift again…rest again…until you get to (50-80) reps
Rest 5-10 minutes, and then do the same thing with

Exercise #3

Shoulder Press (barbell, dumbbell, machine)

* Choose a weight that you could perform 15 reps with
* Then do 25 reps by…

* banging out those first 15 in normal fashion…rest for a few seconds – drawing in 4 big breaths…and then bang out a few more reps (1-5),,,rest again…lift again…rest again…until you get to 25 reps

Goals: This is another “bridge” week designed to allow your energy systems a break from the high intensity workouts you have been doing for the past four weeks.

After this week, we will be returning to another high intensity phase.

And now on to the….

1. Circles – Starting with the ankles and moving all the way up to your neck, gently make circles with all of your joints – 10 revolutions each joint in each direction

.

2. Dead Bug – Push your lower back into the floor and articulate your arms & legs as in the video. 1 set of as many reps as possible with your lower back pushed into the floor. When your back starts to arch…STOP

* banging out the first 15-20 in normal fashion…rest for a few seconds – drawing in 4 big breaths…and then bang out a few more reps (1-5),,,rest again…lift again…rest again…until you get to your maximum (40-60) reps

Rest 5 minutes, and then do the other leg

Rest another 5 min and move onto….

Exercise #2

Glute Ham Raises (2 Leg)

Same protocol as the Bulgarians

Warm up with a couple of 10 rep sets

And then try to get between 50-80 reps

* banging out those first 30 or so in normal fashion…rest for a few seconds – drawing in 4 big breaths…and then bang out a few more reps ,,,rest again…lift again…rest again…until you get to (50-80) reps

Note: There is a good chance some of you won’t be able to do 50 reps. Here’s what I want you to do – place an incline bench or big stability ball in front of you so that you can do partial reps.

You will have to fiddle around with the depth of repetition and the # of repetitions to get it right.

Either way, remember that you legs should be screaming at you by the end of this single work set

Feel free to mix things up during the warm-up. The goal is to warm up your muscles and to get your joints lubricated. I like the following warm-up exercises, but if you’re getting sick of them..do your own thing…as long as it gets the job done.

Circles – Starting with the ankles and moving all the way up to your neck, gently make circles with all of your joints – 10 revolutions each joint in each direction

Dead Bug – Push your lower back into the floor and articulate your arms & legs as in the video. 1 set of as many reps as possible with your lower back pushed into the floor. When your back starts to arch…STOP

Back to the standing cable/band bridge/plank thingie for another minute

This time – face sideways to the cable stack with your arm straight out to the side at shoulder height – stand on the leg closest to the stack – this will be tough

Exercise #4

Push-Ups

From the floor if you can do them

Using a smith machine if you can’t do floor push-ups

No “girl” push-ups on the knees

Push-up for 20 seconds

Rest (floor) for 10 seconds

8 sets total of Push-ups

4 minutes total

Perform as many reps as possible per set

Back to the standing cable/band bridge/plank thingie for another minute

This time – sideways again (but face the opposite direction – 180 degree turn) to the cable stack with your arm straight out to the side at shoulder height – stand on the leg closest to the stack – this will be tough

At this point, you have done 16 minutes of HIIT/HIRT/Tabata work. This is the minimum amount of work for the day. However, depending upon your fitness level, I want you to try and complete all 4 exercises again – that would be 32 min of HIIT/HIRT/Tabata + the standing cable bridge exercise.

Feel free to mix things up during the warm-up. The goal is to warm up your muscles and to get your joints lubricated. I like the following warm-up exercises, but if you’re getting sick of them..do your own thing…as long as it gets the job done.

Circles – Starting with the ankles and moving all the way up to your neck, gently make circles with all of your joints – 10 revolutions each joint in each direction

Dead Bug – Push your lower back into the floor and articulate your arms & legs as in the video. 1 set of as many reps as possible with your lower back pushed into the floor. When your back starts to arch…STOP

Hip Thrust for 20 seconds
Rest (lying) for 10 seconds
8 sets of hip thrusts
4 minutes total
Perform as many reps as possible per set

.

No rest between work sets

Do this instead…..

Using a resistance band or cable station, face away from the band/cable station holding the band/handle overhead.
If arms overhead is too tough on your shoulders, rest your hands on your head.
With a “slight” forward lean, walk (gradually) forward until the resistance starts to pull you backwards or you start bending at the spine.
This exercise mimics a bridge/plank exercise, except instead of being in a horizontal position, you are vertical
To make it tougher, stand on one foot.
I will film a video for this exercise later this week. Until then, hopefully this image I created will give you a clearer idea of what I want.

Hold for 1 minute or until you catch your breath and are ready to start the next work set.

Exercise #2

Incline DB Chest Press

Press the DBs for 20 seconds
Rest (DBs on chest) for 10 seconds
8 sets of chest presses
4 minutes total
Perform as many reps as possible per set
Back to the standing cable/band bridge/plank thingie for a minute

Exercise #3

Pulldowns – vary grips as needed

Pulldown for 20 seconds
Rest for 10 seconds
8 sets of pulldowns
4 minutes total
Perform as many reps as possible per set
Back to the standing cable/band bridge/plank thingie for another minute

This time – face sideways to the cable stack with your arm straight out to the side at shoulder height – stand on the leg closest to the stack – this will be tough

Exercise #4

Cable Woodchops

Woodchop in one direction for 20 seconds
Rest (standing) for 10 seconds
Repeat in the other direction
Rest (standing) for 10 seconds
8 sets total of Woodchops – 4 per direction
4 minutes total
Perform as many reps as possible per set
Back to the standing cable/band bridge/plank thingie for another minute

This time – sideways again (but face the opposite direction – 180 degree turn) to the cable stack with your arm straight out to the side at shoulder height – stand on the leg closest to the stack – this will be tough

At this point, you have done 16 minutes of HIIT/HIRT/Tabata work. This is the minimum amount of work for the day. However, depending upon your fitness level, I want you to try and complete all 4 exercises again – that would be 32 min of HIIT/HIRT/Tabata + the standing cable bridge exercise.

Feel free to mix things up during the warm-up. The goal is to warm up your muscles and to get your joints lubricated. I like the following warm-up exercises, but if you’re getting sick of them..do your own thing…as long as it gets the job done.

Circles – Starting with the ankles and moving all the way up to your neck, gently make circles with all of your joints – 10 revolutions each joint in each direction

Dead Bug – Push your lower back into the floor and articulate your arms & legs as in the video. 1 set of as many reps as possible with your lower back pushed into the floor. When your back starts to arch…STOP

With a “slight” forward lean, walk (gradually) forward until the resistance starts to pull you backwards or you start bending at the spine.

This exercise mimics a bridge/plank exercise, except instead of being in a horizontal position, you are vertical

To make it tougher, stand on one foot.

I will film a video for this exercise later this week. Until then, hopefully this image I created will give you a clearer idea of what I want.

Hold for 1 minute or until you catch your breath and are ready to start the next work set.

Exercise #2

See Saw Press

Press the DBs/KBs for 20 seconds

Rest (arms at side) for 10 seconds

8 sets of see saw presses

4 min total

Perform as many reps as possible per set

Back to the standing cable/band bridge/plank thingie for a minute

Exercise #3

Standing Cable Row

Row for 20 seconds

Rest for 10 seconds

8 sets of standing cable rows

4 min total

Perform as many reps as possible per set

Back to the standing cable/band bridge/plank thingie for another minute

This time – face sideways to the cable stack with your arm straight out to the side at shoulder height – stand on the leg closest to the stack – this will be tough

Exercise #4

1 Leg Deadlift

Deadlift on 1 leg for 20 seconds

Rest (standing) for 10 seconds

Repeat on other leg – alternate back and forth

8 sets of 1 Leg DLs

4 min total

Perform as many reps as possible per set

Hold DBs for resistance

Back to the standing cable/band bridge/plank thingie for another minute

This time – sideways again (but face the opposite direction – 180 degree turn) to the cable stack with your arm straight out to the side at shoulder height – stand on the leg closest to the stack – this will be tough

At this point, you have done 16 minutes of HIIT/HIRT/Tabata work. This is the minimum amount of work for the day. However, depending upon your fitness level, I want you to try and complete all 4 exercises again – that would be 32 min of HIIT/HIRT/Tabata + the standing cable bridge exercise.

Feel free to mix things up during the warm-up. The goal is to warm up your muscles and to get your joints lubricated. I like the following warm-up exercises, but if you’re getting sick of them..do your own thing…as long as it gets the job done.

Circles – Starting with the ankles and moving all the way up to your neck, gently make circles with all of your joints – 10 revolutions each joint in each direction

Dead Bug – Push your lower back into the floor and articulate your arms & legs as in the video. 1 set of as many reps as possible with your lower back pushed into the floor. When your back starts to arch…STOP

Back to the standing cable/band bridge/plank thingie for another minute

This time – face sideways to the cable stack with your arm straight out to the side at shoulder height – stand on the leg closest to the stack – this will be tough

Exercise #4

Push-Ups

From the floor if you can do them

Using a smith machine if you can’t do floor push-ups

No “girl” push-ups on the knees

Push-up for 20 seconds

Rest (floor) for 10 seconds

8 sets total of Push-ups

4 minutes total

Perform as many reps as possible per set

Back to the standing cable/band bridge/plank thingie for another minute

This time – sideways again (but face the opposite direction – 180 degree turn) to the cable stack with your arm straight out to the side at shoulder height – stand on the leg closest to the stack – this will be tough

At this point, you have done 16 minutes of HIIT/HIRT/Tabata work. This is the minimum amount of work for the day. However, depending upon your fitness level, I want you to try and complete all 4 exercises again – that would be 32 min of HIIT/HIRT/Tabata + the standing cable bridge exercise.

Feel free to mix things up during the warm-up. The goal is to warm up your muscles and to get your joints lubricated. I like the following warm-up exercises, but if you’re getting sick of them..do your own thing…as long as it gets the job done.

Circles – Starting with the ankles and moving all the way up to your neck, gently make circles with all of your joints – 10 revolutions each joint in each direction

Dead Bug – Push your lower back into the floor and articulate your arms & legs as in the video. 1 set of as many reps as possible with your lower back pushed into the floor. When your back starts to arch…STOP

Hip Thrust for 20 seconds
Rest (lying) for 10 seconds
8 sets of hip thrusts
4 minutes total
Perform as many reps as possible per set

.

No rest between work sets

Do this instead…..

Using a resistance band or cable station, face away from the band/cable station holding the band/handle overhead.
If arms overhead is too tough on your shoulders, rest your hands on your head.
With a “slight” forward lean, walk (gradually) forward until the resistance starts to pull you backwards or you start bending at the spine.
This exercise mimics a bridge/plank exercise, except instead of being in a horizontal position, you are vertical
To make it tougher, stand on one foot.
I will film a video for this exercise later this week. Until then, hopefully this image I created will give you a clearer idea of what I want.

Hold for 1 minute or until you catch your breath and are ready to start the next work set.

Exercise #2

Incline DB Chest Press

Press the DBs for 20 seconds
Rest (DBs on chest) for 10 seconds
8 sets of chest presses
4 minutes total
Perform as many reps as possible per set
Back to the standing cable/band bridge/plank thingie for a minute

Exercise #3

Pulldowns – vary grips as needed

Pulldown for 20 seconds
Rest for 10 seconds
8 sets of pulldowns
4 minutes total
Perform as many reps as possible per set
Back to the standing cable/band bridge/plank thingie for another minute

This time – face sideways to the cable stack with your arm straight out to the side at shoulder height – stand on the leg closest to the stack – this will be tough

Exercise #4

Cable Woodchops

Woodchop in one direction for 20 seconds
Rest (standing) for 10 seconds
Repeat in the other direction
Rest (standing) for 10 seconds
8 sets total of Woodchops – 4 per direction
4 minutes total
Perform as many reps as possible per set
Back to the standing cable/band bridge/plank thingie for another minute

This time – sideways again (but face the opposite direction – 180 degree turn) to the cable stack with your arm straight out to the side at shoulder height – stand on the leg closest to the stack – this will be tough

At this point, you have done 16 minutes of HIIT/HIRT/Tabata work. This is the minimum amount of work for the day. However, depending upon your fitness level, I want you to try and complete all 4 exercises again – that would be 32 min of HIIT/HIRT/Tabata + the standing cable bridge exercise.

Feel free to mix things up during the warm-up. The goal is to warm up your muscles and to get your joints lubricated. I like the following warm-up exercises, but if you’re getting sick of them..do your own thing…as long as it gets the job done.

Circles – Starting with the ankles and moving all the way up to your neck, gently make circles with all of your joints – 10 revolutions each joint in each direction

Dead Bug – Push your lower back into the floor and articulate your arms & legs as in the video. 1 set of as many reps as possible with your lower back pushed into the floor. When your back starts to arch…STOP

With a “slight” forward lean, walk (gradually) forward until the resistance starts to pull you backwards or you start bending at the spine.

This exercise mimics a bridge/plank exercise, except instead of being in a horizontal position, you are vertical

To make it tougher, stand on one foot.

I will film a video for this exercise later this week. Until then, hopefully this image I created will give you a clearer idea of what I want.

Hold for 1 minute or until you catch your breath and are ready to start the next work set.

Exercise #2

See Saw Press

Press the DBs/KBs for 20 seconds

Rest (arms at side) for 10 seconds

8 sets of see saw presses

4 min total

Perform as many reps as possible per set

Back to the standing cable/band bridge/plank thingie for a minute

Exercise #3

Standing Cable Row

Row for 20 seconds

Rest for 10 seconds

8 sets of standing cable rows

4 min total

Perform as many reps as possible per set

Back to the standing cable/band bridge/plank thingie for another minute

This time – face sideways to the cable stack with your arm straight out to the side at shoulder height – stand on the leg closest to the stack – this will be tough

Exercise #4

1 Leg Deadlift

Deadlift on 1 leg for 20 seconds

Rest (standing) for 10 seconds

Repeat on other leg – alternate back and forth

8 sets of 1 Leg DLs

4 min total

Perform as many reps as possible per set

Hold DBs for resistance

Back to the standing cable/band bridge/plank thingie for another minute

This time – sideways again (but face the opposite direction – 180 degree turn) to the cable stack with your arm straight out to the side at shoulder height – stand on the leg closest to the stack – this will be tough

At this point, you have done 16 minutes of HIIT/HIRT/Tabata work. This is the minimum amount of work for the day. However, depending upon your fitness level, I want you to try and complete all 4 exercises again – that would be 32 min of HIIT/HIRT/Tabata + the standing cable bridge exercise.

Well….if you’re like most people, you just found out about your problem from your doctor. And you’re about to get a prescription for a bunch of drugs and a recommendation to hop onto the nearest treadmill and do lots and lots of low intensity / long duration cardio-vascular exercise.

But, what if your doctor is wrong?

What if…instead of spending hours glued to the seat of an exercise bike, you could be doing 2 x 40 minute interval training sessions per week.

And what if…by doing those 2 x 40 minute interval training sessions per week, you were lowering your BP just as well as your cardio cousins.

And what if you were improving your arterial stiffness even better than those cardio junkies.

Optional Workout

If you perform an optional Neural Activation Workout a few hours before the main workout for the day, you should see better performance during the main workout.

It takes less than 10 minutes and it really works. So do it.

Here are 4 exercises you can use for today’s NA workout

BW Squats aka Air Squats

Push-Ups

Back & Forth Bounding

Rolling Squat / Burpees

.

Main Workout

Warm-Up

Feel free to mix things up during the warm-up. The goal is to warm up your muscles and to get your joints lubricated. I like the following warm-up exercises, but if you’re getting sick of them..do your own thing…as long as it gets the job done.

Circles – Starting with the ankles and moving all the way up to your neck, gently make circles with all of your joints – 10 revolutions each joint in each direction.

Dead Bug – Push your lower back into the floor and articulate your arms & legs as in the video. 1 set of as many reps as possible with your lower back pushed into the floor. When your back starts to arch…STOP

This week, we go to the full-on Tabata ratio of 20 sec. work : 10 sec. res

During these workouts, I want you to balance the amount weight you use with number of reps per set .

If you normally like to push heavy weight…I want you to cut back and focus on the number of reps per set

If you normally go lighter but like to do high rep sets..then I want you to up the weight and drop the reps

The success of this program depends on you being willing to break out of your comfort zone.
And after these 3 weeks, we’re going to back off for a week with some bridge workouts….and then dive back into another 3 week cycle focusing on different exercises.

.

WORKOUT WARM-UP

Feel free to mix things up during the warm-up. The goal is to warm up your muscles and to get your joints lubricated. I like the following warm-up exercises, but if you’re getting sick of them..do your own thing…as long as it gets the job done.

Circles – Starting with the ankles and moving all the way up to your neck, gently make circles with all of your joints – 10 revolutions each joint in each direction

Dead Bug – Push your lower back into the floor and articulate your arms & legs as in the video. 1 set of as many reps as possible with your lower back pushed into the floor. When your back starts to arch…STOP

Back to the standing cable/band bridge/plank thingie for another minute

This time – face sideways to the cable stack with your arm straight out to the side at shoulder height – stand on the leg closest to the stack – this will be tough

Exercise #4

Push-Ups

From the floor if you can do them

Using a smith machine if you can’t do floor push-ups

No “girl” push-ups on the knees

Push-up for 20 seconds

Rest (floor) for 10 seconds

8 sets total of Push-ups

4 minutes total

Perform as many reps as possible per set

Back to the standing cable/band bridge/plank thingie for another minute

This time – sideways again (but face the opposite direction – 180 degree turn) to the cable stack with your arm straight out to the side at shoulder height – stand on the leg closest to the stack – this will be tough

At this point, you have done 16 minutes of HIIT/HIRT/Tabata work. This is the minimum amount of work for the day. However, depending upon your fitness level, I want you to try and complete all 4 exercises again – that would be 32 min of HIIT/HIRT/Tabata + the standing cable bridge exercise.

This week, we go to the full-on Tabata ratio of 20 sec. work : 10 sec. rest

During these workouts, I want you to balance the amount weight you use with number of reps per set .

If you normally like to push heavy weight…I want you to cut back and focus on the number of reps per set
If you normally go lighter but like to do high rep sets..then I want you to up the weight and drop the reps
The success of this program depends on you being willing to break out of your comfort zone.
And after these 3 weeks, we’re going to back off for a week with some bridge workouts….and then dive back into another 3 week cycle focusing on different exercises.

.

Also, if I didn’t mention it last week, using a stopwatch or interval timer is going to make this workout much more efficient. Trying to watch a wall clock while doing this workout is not so easy.

..

WORKOUT WARM-UP

Feel free to mix things up during the warm-up. The goal is to warm up your muscles and to get your joints lubricated. I like the following warm-up exercises, but if you’re getting sick of them..do your own thing…as long as it gets the job done.

Circles – Starting with the ankles and moving all the way up to your neck, gently make circles with all of your joints – 10 revolutions each joint in each direction

Dead Bug – Push your lower back into the floor and articulate your arms & legs as in the video. 1 set of as many reps as possible with your lower back pushed into the floor. When your back starts to arch…STOP

Hip Thrust for 20 seconds
Rest (lying) for 10 seconds
8 sets of hip thrusts
4 minutes total
Perform as many reps as possible per set
No rest between work sets

Do this instead…..

Using a resistance band or cable station, face away from the band/cable station holding the band/handle overhead.
If arms overhead is too tough on your shoulders, rest your hands on your head.
With a “slight” forward lean, walk (gradually) forward until the resistance starts to pull you backwards or you start bending at the spine.
This exercise mimics a bridge/plank exercise, except instead of being in a horizontal position, you are vertical
To make it tougher, stand on one foot.
I will film a video for this exercise later this week. Until then, hopefully this image I created will give you a clearer idea of what I want.

Hold for 1 minute or until you catch your breath and are ready to start the next work set.

Exercise #2

Incline DB Chest Press

Press the DBs for 20 seconds
Rest (DBs on chest) for 10 seconds
8 sets of chest presses
4 minutes total
Perform as many reps as possible per set
Back to the standing cable/band bridge/plank thingie for a minute

Exercise #3

Pulldowns – vary grips as needed

Pulldown for 20 seconds
Rest for 10 seconds
8 sets of pulldowns
4 minutes total
Perform as many reps as possible per set
Back to the standing cable/band bridge/plank thingie for another minute

This time – face sideways to the cable stack with your arm straight out to the side at shoulder height – stand on the leg closest to the stack – this will be tough

Exercise #4

Cable Woodchops

Woodchop in one direction for 20 seconds
Rest (standing) for 10 seconds
Repeat in the other direction
Rest (standing) for 10 seconds
8 sets total of Woodchops – 4 per direction
4 minutes total
Perform as many reps as possible per set
Back to the standing cable/band bridge/plank thingie for another minute

This time – sideways again (but face the opposite direction – 180 degree turn) to the cable stack with your arm straight out to the side at shoulder height – stand on the leg closest to the stack – this will be tough

At this point, you have done 16 minutes of HIIT/HIRT/Tabata work. This is the minimum amount of work for the day. However, depending upon your fitness level, I want you to try and complete all 4 exercises again – that would be 32 min of HIIT/HIRT/Tabata + the standing cable bridge exercise.

This week, we go to the full-on Tabata ratio of 20 sec. work : 10 sec. rest

During these workouts, I want you to balance the amount weight you use with number of reps per set .

If you normally like to push heavy weight…I want you to cut back and focus on the number of reps per set

If you normally go lighter but like to do high rep sets..then I want you to up the weight and drop the reps

The success of this program depends on you being willing to break out of your comfort zone.
And after these 3 weeks, we’re going to back off for a week with some bridge workouts….and then dive back into another 3 week cycle focusing on different exercises.

.

Also, if I didn’t mention it last week, using a stopwatch or interval timer is going to make this workout much more efficient. Trying to watch a wall clock while doing this workout is not so easy.

..

WORKOUT WARM-UP

Feel free to mix things up during the warm-up. The goal is to warm up your muscles and to get your joints lubricated. I like the following warm-up exercises, but if you’re getting sick of them..do your own thing…as long as it gets the job done.

Circles – Starting with the ankles and moving all the way up to your neck, gently make circles with all of your joints – 10 revolutions each joint in each direction

Dead Bug – Push your lower back into the floor and articulate your arms & legs as in the video. 1 set of as many reps as possible with your lower back pushed into the floor. When your back starts to arch…STOP

With a “slight” forward lean, walk (gradually) forward until the resistance starts to pull you backwards or you start bending at the spine.

This exercise mimics a bridge/plank exercise, except instead of being in a horizontal position, you are vertical

To make it tougher, stand on one foot.

I will film a video for this exercise later this week. Until then, hopefully this image I created will give you a clearer idea of what I want.

Hold for 1 minute or until you catch your breath and are ready to start the next work set.

Exercise #2

See Saw Press

Press the DBs/KBs for 20 seconds

Rest (arms at side) for 10 seconds

8 sets of see saw presses

4 min total

Perform as many reps as possible per set

Back to the standing cable/band bridge/plank thingie for a minute

Exercise #3

Standing Cable Row

Row for 20 seconds

Rest for 10 seconds

8 sets of standing cable rows

4 min total

Perform as many reps as possible per set

Back to the standing cable/band bridge/plank thingie for another minute

This time – face sideways to the cable stack with your arm straight out to the side at shoulder height – stand on the leg closest to the stack – this will be tough

Exercise #4

1 Leg Deadlift

Deadlift on 1 leg for 20 seconds

Rest (standing) for 10 seconds

Repeat on other leg – alternate back and forth

8 sets of 1 Leg DLs

4 min total

Perform as many reps as possible per set

Hold DBs for resistance

Back to the standing cable/band bridge/plank thingie for another minute

This time – sideways again (but face the opposite direction – 180 degree turn) to the cable stack with your arm straight out to the side at shoulder height – stand on the leg closest to the stack – this will be tough

At this point, you have done 16 minutes of HIIT/HIRT/Tabata work. This is the minimum amount of work for the day. However, depending upon your fitness level, I want you to try and complete all 4 exercises again – that would be 32 min of HIIT/HIRT/Tabata + the standing cable bridge exercise.

Two weeks ago, I ticked off a small slice of the Crossfit world when I posted this workout video on Facebook and asked for their feedback.

Amidst the constructive criticism and numerous questions, there were a few Crossfitters who took the time to offer the following opinions:

worst workout I have ever seen

that workout is retarded

stupid

fu*king stupid

useless, and

not as good as a wide variety of different Crossfit workouts (most noticeably the Murph)

Strangely enough, when asked, none of these commenters could offer a cogent argument as to why the workout was stupid and/or retarded.

No big surprise…amongst every group there are always a few jackasses.

But…the jackasses got me thinking.

They got me thinking about how Crossfit & Crossfitters have changed during the time that I have watched Crossfit explode in popularity.

When it began, Crossfitters thrived as an “us against the world” group of amateur athletes devoted to a pursuit of physical fitness that is, by design, broad, general, and inclusive.

Crossfit’s specialty was in not specializing.

Crossfitters believed that in combat, survival, many sports, and most importantly, real life ….this kind of approach to fitness is rewarded while, on average, the specialist – bodybuilding, powerlifting, runners, etc…are punished.

So, why is it that when I talk to Crossfitters, I am noticing an increasingly close-minded approach to fitness….an attitude that Crossfit and more specifically, the WODs… are the end-all and be-all of physical fitness?

Why is it that, instead of creating the world’s most complete athletes, the focus is shifting towards creating the world’s best Crossfitters?

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And that’s where it would have ended….with me mulling over the evolution (de-evolution???) of Crossfit while sitting on my local Starbucks patio, drinking a mug of green tea, enjoying the summer sun and watching the girls walk by.

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Except that I mentioned it to my buddy Amir – aka the guy who designed the 3 Minutes of HIRT workout circuit.

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Perhaps not the brightest idea I have ever had.

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Because Amir took the criticisms a little personal….and proceeded to:

engage in a few days of online arguing with the Crossfit jackasses, and

take out his frustrations on his personal training clients.

But, luckily for us, after a few days of brutalizing his clients, Amir decided to:

Test himself with a bunch of the hardest Crossfit WODs, and

Create a bunch of new (and more Crossfit-esque) workouts for your enjoyment.

Here is the first workout.

Note: I had to split the workout into 2 videos because youtube complained that the file was too big.

Amir’s time for the workout was 15 min and 59 seconds

The circuit consists of:

1 round of:

2 x 24KG Kettlebell Snatch x 25 reps

Pistol Squats w/ lateral bench jumps x 30 reps

Switch Grip Pull Ups x 35 reps

Dynamic Fly Push Ups x 40 reps

2 x 24 KG Kettlebell Snatch x 25 reps

Bodyweight Dips x 50 reps

And as you may have noticed, Amir’s workout partners were not always able to perform the exact same movements as Amir.

They modified the intensity of the exercises to suit their current level of fitness.

Pistol Squats became a 1-Leg Squat with the off leg positioned behind the body

Next week, we go to the full-on Tabata ratio of 20 sec. work : 10 sec. rest

During these workouts, I want you to balance the amount weight you use with number of reps per set .

If you normally like to push heavy weight…I want you to cut back and focus on the number of reps per set

If you normally go lighter but like to do high rep sets..then I want you to up the weight and drop the reps

The success of this program depends on you being willing to break out of your comfort zone.
And after these 3 weeks, we’re going to back off for a week with some bridge workouts….and then dive back into another 3 week cycle focusing on different exercises.

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Also, if I didn’t mention it last week, using a stopwatch or interval timer is going to make this workout much more efficient. Trying to watch a wall clock while doing this workout is not so easy.

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WORKOUT WARM-UP

Feel free to mix things up during the warm-up. The goal is to warm up your muscles and to get your joints lubricated. I like the following warm-up exercises, but if you’re getting sick of them..do your own thing…as long as it gets the job done.

Circles – Starting with the ankles and moving all the way up to your neck, gently make circles with all of your joints – 10 revolutions each joint in each direction

Dead Bug – Push your lower back into the floor and articulate your arms & legs as in the video. 1 set of as many reps as possible with your lower back pushed into the floor. When your back starts to arch…STOP

With a “slight” forward lean, walk (gradually) forward until the resistance starts to pull you backwards or you start bending at the spine.

This exercise mimics a bridge/plank exercise, except instead of being in a horizontal position, you are vertical

To make it tougher, stand on one foot.

I will film a video for this exercise later this week. Until then, hopefully this image I created will give you a clearer idea of what I want.

Hold for 1 minute or until you catch your breath and are ready to start the next work set.

Exercise #2

See Saw Press

Press the DBs/KBs for 20 seconds

Rest (arms at side) for 15 seconds

7 sets of see saw presses

4 min 5 sec total

Perform as many reps as possible per set

Back to the standing cable/band bridge/plank thingie for a minute

Exercise #3

Standing Cable Row

Row for 20 seconds

Rest for 15 seconds

7 sets of standing cable rows

4 min 5 sec total

Perform as many reps as possible per set

Back to the standing cable/band bridge/plank thingie for another minute

This time – face sideways to the cable stack with your arm straight out to the side at shoulder height – stand on the leg closest to the stack – this will be tough

Exercise #4

1 Leg Deadlift

Deadlift on 1 leg for 20 seconds

Rest (standing) for 15 seconds

Repeat on other leg – alternate back and forth

7 sets of 1 Leg DLs

4 min 5 sec total

Perform as many reps as possible per set

Hold DBs for resistance

Back to the standing cable/band bridge/plank thingie for another minute

This time – sideways again (but face the opposite direction – 180 degree turn) to the cable stack with your arm straight out to the side at shoulder height – stand on the leg closest to the stack – this will be tough

At this point, you have done 16 minutes of HIIT/HIRT/Tabata work. This is the minimum amount of work for the day. However, depending upon your fitness level, I want you to try and complete all 4 exercises again – that would be 32 min of HIIT/HIRT/Tabata + the standing cable bridge exercise.

In Week 1, we’re going to use a 20 sec. work : 20 sec. rest ratio during our supersets

In Week 2, the ratio shifts to 20 sec. work : 15 sec. rest

In Week 3, we go to the full-on Tabata ratio of 20 sec. work : 10 sec. rest

During these workouts, I want you to balance the amount weight you use with number of reps per set .

If you normally like to push heavy weight…I want you to cut back and focus on the number of reps per set

If you normally go lighter but like to do high rep sets..then I want you to up the weight and drop the reps

The success of this program depends on you being willing to break out of your comfort zone.
And after these 3 weeks, we’re going to back off for a week with some bridge workouts….and then dive back into another 3 week cycle focusing on different exercises.

.

WORKOUT WARM-UP

Feel free to mix things up during the warm-up. The goal is to warm up your muscles and to get your joints lubricated. I like the following warm-up exercises, but if you’re getting sick of them..do your own thing…as long as it gets the job done.

Circles – Starting with the ankles and moving all the way up to your neck, gently make circles with all of your joints – 10 revolutions each joint in each direction

Dead Bug – Push your lower back into the floor and articulate your arms & legs as in the video. 1 set of as many reps as possible with your lower back pushed into the floor. When your back starts to arch…STOP

Back to the standing cable/band bridge/plank thingie for another minute

This time – face sideways to the cable stack with your arm straight out to the side at shoulder height – stand on the leg closest to the stack – this will be tough

Exercise #4

Push-Ups

From the floor if you can do them

Using a smith machine if you can’t do floor push-ups

No “girl” push-ups on the knees

Push-up for 20 seconds

Rest (floor) for 20 seconds

6 sets total of Push-ups

4 minutes total

Perform as many reps as possible per set

Back to the standing cable/band bridge/plank thingie for another minute

This time – sideways again (but face the opposite direction – 180 degree turn) to the cable stack with your arm straight out to the side at shoulder height – stand on the leg closest to the stack – this will be tough

At this point, you have done 16 minutes of HIIT/HIRT/Tabata work. This is the minimum amount of work for the day. However, depending upon your fitness level, I want you to try and complete all 4 exercises again – that would be 32 min of HIIT/HIRT/Tabata + the standing cable bridge exercise.

Goals: These next 3 weeks are chock full o’ killer HIIT/HIRT/Tabata style workouts designed to get you fit & ripped.

In Week 1, we’re going to use a 20 sec. work : 20 sec. rest ratio during our supersets

In Week 2, the ratio shifts to 20 sec. work : 15 sec. rest

In Week 3, we go to the full-on Tabata ratio of 20 sec. work : 10 sec. rest

During these workouts, I want you to balance the amount weight you use with number of reps per set .

If you normally like to push heavy weight…I want you to cut back and focus on the number of reps per set

If you normally go lighter but like to do high rep sets..then I want you to up the weight and drop the reps

The success of this program depends on you being willing to break out of your comfort zone.
And after these 3 weeks, we’re going to back off for a week with some bridge workouts….and then dive back into another 3 week cycle focusing on different exercises.

.

WORKOUT WARM-UP

Feel free to mix things up during the warm-up. The goal is to warm up your muscles and to get your joints lubricated. I like the following warm-up exercises, but if you’re getting sick of them..do your own thing…as long as it gets the job done.

Circles – Starting with the ankles and moving all the way up to your neck, gently make circles with all of your joints – 10 revolutions each joint in each direction

Dead Bug – Push your lower back into the floor and articulate your arms & legs as in the video. 1 set of as many reps as possible with your lower back pushed into the floor. When your back starts to arch…STOP

With a “slight” forward lean, walk (gradually) forward until the resistance starts to pull you backwards or you start bending at the spine.

This exercise mimics a bridge/plank exercise, except instead of being in a horizontal position, you are vertical

To make it tougher, stand on one foot.

I will film a video for this exercise later this week. Until then, hopefully this image I created will give you a clearer idea of what I want.

Hold for 1 minute or until you catch your breath and are ready to start the next work set.

Exercise #2

Incline DB Chest Press

Press the DBs for 20 seconds

Rest (DBs on chest) for 20 seconds

6 sets of chest presses

4 minutes total

Perform as many reps as possible per set

Back to the standing cable/band bridge/plank thingie for a minute

Exercise #3

Pulldowns – vary grips as needed

Pulldown for 20 seconds

Rest for 20 seconds

6 sets of pulldowns

4 minutes total

Perform as many reps as possible per set

Back to the standing cable/band bridge/plank thingie for another minute

This time – face sideways to the cable stack with your arm straight out to the side at shoulder height – stand on the leg closest to the stack – this will be tough

Exercise #4

Cable Woodchops

Woodchop in one direction for 20 seconds

Rest (standing) for 20 seconds

Repeat in the other direction

Rest (standing) for 20 seconds

6 sets total of Woodchops – 3 per direction

4 minutes total

Perform as many reps as possible per set

Back to the standing cable/band bridge/plank thingie for another minute

This time – sideways again (but face the opposite direction – 180 degree turn) to the cable stack with your arm straight out to the side at shoulder height – stand on the leg closest to the stack – this will be tough

At this point, you have done 16 minutes of HIIT/HIRT/Tabata work. This is the minimum amount of work for the day. However, depending upon your fitness level, I want you to try and complete all 4 exercises again – that would be 32 min of HIIT/HIRT/Tabata + the standing cable bridge exercise.

In Week 1, we’re going to use a 20 sec. work : 20 sec. rest ratio during our supersets

In Week 2, the ratio shifts to 20 sec. work : 15 sec. rest

In Week 3, we go to the full-on Tabata ratio of 20 sec. work : 10 sec. rest

During these workouts, I want you to balance the amount weight you use with number of reps per set .

If you normally like to push heavy weight…I want you to cut back and focus on the number of reps per set

If you normally go lighter but like to do high rep sets..then I want you to up the weight and drop the reps

The success of this program depends on you being willing to break out of your comfort zone.
And after these 3 weeks, we’re going to back off for a week with some bridge workouts….and then dive back into another 3 week cycle focusing on different exercises.

.

WORKOUT WARM-UP

Feel free to mix things up during the warm-up. The goal is to warm up your muscles and to get your joints lubricated. I like the following warm-up exercises, but if you’re getting sick of them..do your own thing…as long as it gets the job done.

Circles – Starting with the ankles and moving all the way up to your neck, gently make circles with all of your joints – 10 revolutions each joint in each direction

Dead Bug – Push your lower back into the floor and articulate your arms & legs as in the video. 1 set of as many reps as possible with your lower back pushed into the floor. When your back starts to arch…STOP

With a “slight” forward lean, walk (gradually) forward until the resistance starts to pull you backwards or you start bending at the spine.

This exercise mimics a bridge/plank exercise, except instead of being in a horizontal position, you are vertical

To make it tougher, stand on one foot.

I will film a video for this exercise later this week. Until then, hopefully this image I created will give you a clearer idea of what I want.

Hold for 1 minute or until you catch your breath and are ready to start the next work set.

Exercise #2

See Saw Press

Press the DBs/KBs for 20 seconds

Rest (arms at side) for 20 seconds

6 sets of see saw presses

4 minutes total

Perform as many reps as possible per set

Back to the standing cable/band bridge/plank thingie for a minute

Exercise #3

Standing Cable Row

Row for 20 seconds

Rest for 20 seconds

6 sets of standing cable rows

4 minutes total

Perform as many reps as possible per set

Back to the standing cable/band bridge/plank thingie for another minute

This time – face sideways to the cable stack with your arm straight out to the side at shoulder height – stand on the leg closest to the stack – this will be tough

Exercise #4

1 Leg Deadlift

Deadlift on 1 leg for 20 seconds

Rest (standing) for 20 seconds

Repeat on other leg – alternate back and forth

6 sets of 1 Leg DLs

4 minutes total

Perform as many reps as possible per set

Hold DBs for resistance

Back to the standing cable/band bridge/plank thingie for another minute

This time – sideways again (but face the opposite direction – 180 degree turn) to the cable stack with your arm straight out to the side at shoulder height – stand on the leg closest to the stack – this will be tough

At this point, you have done 16 minutes of HIIT/HIRT/Tabata work. This is the minimum amount of work for the day. However, depending upon your fitness level, I want you to try and complete all 4 exercises again – that would be 32 min of HIIT/HIRT/Tabata + the standing cable bridge exercise.

The next time someone tells you they just did a “killer” workout, show them this one…

What you just watched was just 1/6th of a workout I witnessed last week at the MNJCC in Toronto.

After watching Amir, Nicole & Manny perform the first round of this circuit, I dashed off to my gym locker, grabbed my brand new mini video cam, sprinted back to the gym and recorded the last 3 min round of their first HIRT(High Intensity Resistance Training) circuit from hell.

According to this study, 6 weeks of HIIT (high intensity interval training), will make you live longer.

Previous research indicates that your SIRT1 proteins help keep you healthy & live longer by fixing errors in your DNA – cancer, UV light, free radicals, etc. With that being the case, it’s a good thing to have lots of healthy, active SIRT1 running all over your body fixing any DNA errors.

Our current methods of increasing SIRT1 activity include calorie restriction and the supplement Resveratrol.

Workout Goals:

WARMUP

The goal of the warm-up is to get your joints to release your natural joint lubrication (synovial fluid) and to warm up your muscles.

The individual exercises don’t matter.

I chose these exercises because I think they are very efficient and get me ready for the workout as quickly and efficiently as possible

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1. Circles – Starting with the ankles and moving all the way up to your neck, gently make circles with all of your joints – 10 revolutions each joint in each direction

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2. Dead Bug – Push your lower back into the floor and articulate your arms & legs as in the video. 1 set of as many reps as possible with your lower back pushed into the floor. When your back starts to arch…STOP

HIIT will make you stronger, faster and leaner…..One of the ways it does that is by improving your lactate threshold (LT).

What is Lactate Threshold?

Lactate threshold is the level of exercise intensity where lactic acid builds up in your bloodstream and you begin to feel that lactic acid burn. In the world of athletic science, LT is usually expressed as a percentage of VO2 max.

Essentially, it is a measurement of how much oxygen you can get into your muscles during exercise, and is widely accepted as the single best measure of cardiovascular fitness and maximal aerobic power.

The Magic of HIIT

So how does LT & VO2 Max make me stronger, faster, leaner?

If you can delay the build up of lactic acid in your blood, you can trainer longer, faster, harder.

If you can train longer, faster, harder, you will become stronger, faster leaner.

And how do we delay the lactic acid burn, increase our LT and maximize our VO2 max?

Well, according to this study, high intensity interval training significantly increases LT and VO2 max.

The Study

Researchers took 20 physically active individuals and put them through one of two separate 6 week training programs.

Group 1 performed 1 interval training workout per week

Group 2 performed 2 interval training workouts per week

After 6 weeks,

Group 1 improved their LT by 4.3%

Group 2 improved thei LT by 8.2%

Conclusion

Not only is interval training (HIIT) a successful strategy for improving LT and VO2 max, there is a dose-response relationship between frequency of interval training and the magnitude of LT improvement.